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During an appearance on Desert Island Discs in 2009, Barry Humphries declared that he would be happy if his obituaries made no mention of Dame Edna Everage, the monstrous Melbourne housewife he had created half-a-century earlier. Some hope, said The Times. True, Dame Edna wasn’t his only alter ego: there was also…

With the passing of Barry Humphries, the entertainment industry loses a man who blazed a trail for others, defined a genre and changed the face of comedy.

His death in a Sydney hospital, where he spent several days with complications following hip surgery, was confirmed by his family.

As Australia’s best-known comic performer, Humphries was renowned for his caricatures and politically risque humour

Dame Esther Rantzen and Sir Michael Parkinson were among those paying tribute to the late comedian.

The enduringly popular Australian has died at the age of 89

Australian entertainer Barry Humphries has died at the age of 89, a spokesman for the hospital where he was being treated has confirmed.

The Tony Award-winning comedian was internationally renowned for his garish stage persona Dame Edna Everage, a condescending snob whose evolving character delighted audiences over seven decades.

Across a seven-decade career, the entertainer delighted audiences with characters including gentlemen, regular ‘blokes’ and boorish politicians